The place for great and not-so-great nearly forgotten videos from the decade of Miami Vice, mullets, and acid wash jeans. All praise to the bands, YouTube, and the original posters of these videos.

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Rockwell - Somebody's Watching Me

Welcome to ERV's 5th annual All Hallows Even celebration, and feel free to click on the (appropriately named) All Hallows Even label to the right if you'd like to catch up on our earlier videos. In short, we try to come up with rare and interesting Halloween videos to celebrate the spooky time of year.

Leading off this year is an artist who had some definite career advantages. For instance, although being Barry Gordy's son may not ensure that you make in the music business, it sure can't hurt. Ditto for having Michael Jackson (yes, that Michael Jackson) sing backup on your first single.

To be fair, Rockwell (born as Kennedy William Gordy) used a stage name, and may have even signed to his father's Motown label without the old man knowing. Rockwell's first single was released in 1984 and is a perfect Halloween video (it has been in the bullpen from our first All Hallows Even post). One viewing and you'll see (or remember) why.

"Somebody's Watching Me" turned out to be a big hit for Rockwell, reaching #2 on the charts, while his debut LP of the same name hit #15. However, that was the peak of his success, and after his next two albums failed to break the top 100, Rockwell left the industry.

Cool trivia fact: Rockwell is not a one hit wonder, as "Obscene Phone Caller" off Somebody's Watching Me reached #35 on the chats.